Romualdez Museum (Santo Nino Shrine) in Tacloban, Leyte Part 1

Tacloban City, 22 March 2010 - Not to be missed when visiting Tacloban is the Romualdez Museum, aka Santo Nino Shrine and Heritage Museum. The Romualdezes of Leyte is the family of former first lady Imelda Romualdez Marcos. The mansion was constructed in the 80's to showcase Imelda's "aristocratic taste and origins."

The intricate workmanship of Filipino artisans and wood carvers is reflected in the building itself, from the facade to the walls and ceiling, from the wooden art center pieces to the elaborate decorative borloloys.

In Part 1, we're sharing photos of the structure so that you too can appreciate Filipino talent and at the same time show how extravagant one can get if given the freedom to spend money that is seemingly unlimited.

There are obvious signs of deterioration even in the facade as only museum income is supposedly allotted for maintenance and operating expenses. This sequestered property has no additional government investments, even just to maintain the priceless art pieces collected by Imelda. This is public property going to waste!

Notice the "Banig" (woven mat) motif and elaborate artistry in this shot near the entrance to wow the incoming guests.

This is the main altar at the ground floor where the Santo Nino is located. Again, notice the grainy background due to the "Banig" motif that is actually handcrafted wood design (see below).

Details of the "Banig" walls -- wood pieces that are individually placed to achieve the desired effect. Obviously, so much skilled labor was spent to accomplish this.

The main hall of the ground floor of the museum is like a chapel with pews and religious paintings all around.

This central hall welcomes guests coming up from the ground floor via the grandiose stairs made of wood.

The grand ballroom is in the second floor. Huge chandeliers light the hall. With so much space to move, our daughter felt like dancing.

The low light level is needed to achieve the firefly effect for this room is similarly named the Firefly Room.

The dining room with a presidential table. Observe the elegant china and wood pieces on top of the "Banig"- inspired highlight of the long table.

More photos coming in Part 2 of this series of posts about our visit to the Romualdez Museum.